As tommo has so beautifully put it, we (the Sally Hawkins fans) are being terribly spoilt at the moment with the deluge of multimedia of interviews featuring Sally Hawkins! More news to come on that, but in the meantime, here’s yet another interview with a different flavour to those from before!

Sally Hawkins won the best actress award at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival for her performance as Poppy in Mike Leigh’s latest film ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’. She talks about her starring role as the chirpy upbeat London primary school teacher who refuses to put a negative spin on life, and why as an actor she is drawn to working with Mike Leigh.

The interview with Jenni Murray, chair of the weekday BBC Radio4 programme Woman’s Hour, had a more serious tone to it, where JM and SH analysed, in particular, Poppy‘s character in the film. Having listened to the more light-hearted interviews where SH laughs quite a bit, this interview had a more ‘grounded’ feeling.

This is not to say there weren’t some humorous moments during the interview, because there were (and I laughed with them ) but I found this interview particularly enjoyable, as they really dissect some of the scenes from the film in a lot more detail. This maybe because they have a longer time for the interview than before (9 minutes) but another plus point is that: one can never underestimate how great it is to listen to two very soothing voices on the radio!

You can catch it the entire interview on the BBC Realplayer by visiting the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2008_16_wed.shtml

Alternatively, press ‘play’ below to listen to the mp3 version of the same interview. Let us know if you like it as well!

As usual we have included the transcript of the interview below the ‘cut’, so feel feel to click on ‘continue reading…’ to read the interview in full. There are a few words I didn’t quite catch, so if you happen to know what they were, please please let us know!

Sally Hawkins on “Woman’s Hour”: Transcript

JM: “Now, Mike Leigh’s latest film, Happy-Go-Lucky centres on a 30-year old primary school teacher called ‘Poppy’. When her bike is stolen, she shrugs it off with a ‘I never got to say goodbye’.

She’s kind to a bullied boy in her class, and to a down-and-out she meets on her way home.

She has a solid friendship with her flatmate, and even manages to tolerate the most miserable and inept
driving instructor imaginable.”

—Audio clip from the film—

JM: “Eddie Marsan as Scott, and Sally Hawkins as the irrepressibly cheerful Poppy.
Sally, how do you go about working with Mike Leigh. How does it all start?”

SH: “Rehearsal process, which is a luxury for any actor. You have, for this film, we had almost 6 months rehearsal period. And it’s uh, very complex. Experience where you’re building up these layers, and you’re taking inspiration from everything in the whole world, and people you meet, and or you spot in the street.”

JM: “So what do he tell you. Right at the start, what does he say : ‘Now, Sally, you’re going to play this character called ‘Polly’. What do you know about her?”

SH: “Well, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t now what she was called . You don’t have a script, you don’t have anything. The character’s name comes right at the end of the rehearsals in a way, once you know the essence of the character you’re dealing with.

All that I knew was that I was going to be involved. I didn’t know in what capacity, whether I’d end up in it.
You don’t with a Mike Leigh film. It’s based on trust really, and that’s what’s so exciting.”

JM: “But what does he tell you about the finished product. It’s a very unusual film, where nothing too horrible happens, and it is Happy-Go-Lucky. What did he say was behind his thinking on that?”

SH: “Well, umm… it’s strange thinking about it now. We didn’t really talk about the film as a concept, or what he wants to achieve as such. It was more put to me ‘do you want to do it, and would you be interested’, and of course, if Mike Leigh asks you to be in a film, you don’t turn it down.

So it was more, umm… the way he works is very organic. And you see what happens.

I know it sounds like an incredibly vague way of describing it, but it’s not structured as such – it’s not so black and white.

And Mike talking about this film: it came to him as a feeling. And similarly with Poppy, Poppy was a feeling. And that’s the only way I can describe it. I know Mike sort of approaches films in different ways,
and every film that he directs is different, of course.

But Poppy was a feeling, and I know he was interested in capturing that feeling. It was about capturing something very positive. I mean, for me, this film was about love. But it was only when I saw the end result, and in this position now, now I can be objective about it, I can see what it is about. But he never at any point said ‘this is the film I want to make’, ‘these are the ideas I want to put in it’, it’s just more following a lead. And he follows where he wants to go, and I’m sort of trottering along behind.”

JM: “Some of the funniest and also the most threatening scenes are the ones in the car, having the driving lessons. How did you, and Eddie who plays this dreadful driving instructor, *laughs* How did you develop that relationship?”

SH: “Oh. Oh god. Eddie Marsan is just amazing. I’ve wanted to work with him for ages, so I was very lucky in that way. He is a phenomenal actor. And when you’re working with an actor like that, it sort of raises your game. It’s like working with Mike; you just have to step up to the mark.

He’s incredibly intelligent, he’s very funny, and he’s a brilliant actor. So I was very excited to work with him, but you have hours of improvisation.”

JM: “So you sit in the car…”

SH: “Yeah, we sat…”

JM: “…and you drive around, where’s Mike Leigh then? Is he in the back of the car.”

SH: *laughs* “He’s in the back, he’s in the boot. No *laughs* He’s sitting in the back. At some points lying down so we wouldn’t spot him in the mirror, and that wouldn’t jarr as out of our character.It was days, weeks of improvisation with Mike with a very sore coccyx in the back, with either me or Eddie drivin around like lunatics.”

JM: “There are times when he is very very threatening and scary in the part he plays. He’s racist, he’s frightening, acually.”

SH: “Poppy isn’t.”

JM: “Absolutely. There’s also one scene where she’s very kind to a down-and-out, and the audience is sitting there thinking “You idiot!, you pot of careless, something horrible is going to happen to you.”

And it is as if a lot of anger is directed at you, playing Poppy. What’s that like for you as an actor in an on-going way, if Mike makes you do it over and over.”

SH: “Well I never… that’s an interesting point, well I never at any point felt it was directed at me. I’m playing a part, and in a way, you almost have that… you’re stepping into someone’s shoes, so you have that shell. I’m stepping in to Poppy’s skin as it were.

But then being in Poppy’s head, I never thought there was a lot of anger in a way. She has this extraordinary ability and view of life, and vision of the world. So I suppose objectively now, you can see that there was a lot of anger directed at her. But I never felt, and Poppy certainly never felt victim of that. She’s got an amazing ability to cope with life and people, whatever is thrown at her.”

JM: “She has a very close relationship with her flatmate. I did worry I have to say, about what was going to happen to Zoe the flatmate, when Poppy goes off with the nice social worker boyfriend.”

SH: *laughs* “Riiight..” *laughs*

JM: “She’s just left on her own.”

SH: “No no, absolutely not. No, I mean, to me, but to Poppy, there’s nothing more important than friends and friendship. And they have an incredibly close bond, that’s been around for years.

They met at college doing a teacher-training course together, and we went through the months of
rehearsal. You plot that, you plot all that relationship in an incredibly detailed way.

So umm.., oh no… god no. There’s nothing more important. Poppy, you know, she’s been in a relationship
as has Zoe in the past, and they have never threatened their relationship. And I think that’s very important.
For me as well, there’s nothing more important than female relationships.”

JM: “Do you think you would have found Poppy a little bit irritating if you’d known her?”

SH: “No no.” *laughs* “I love Poppy. If I found her irritating, I wouldn’t be able to play her. In any way, I think she’s extraordinary, and I think those kind of people I’m attracted to, those people who have that positive drive through life. I think in a way they’ve got life sussed. I think she’s highly intelligent. She’s umm… very grounded, practical, compassionate, sensitive…”

JM: “And happy!”

SH: “… and happy! And umm… that’s the best way to go about life. Why wallow in self-pity and negativity?
I don’t see that as an intelligent choice, and it is her choice. She’s chosen to be happy.”

~ Transcribed by Milo (27/04/2008)
With thanks to Tommo for corrections to the transcript.

The interview took place just after Sally Hawkins had won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress, and although it is quite short (about 6~7 minutes), they manage to cover a lot more than just Sally Hawkins‘ role as Poppy and the filming of Happy-Go-Lucky; including her ‘big break’ through Mike Leigh, as well as her other roles in Little Britain and the other TV adaptations, especially Fingersmith, where both NR and SH become quite indignant about the media uproar at the time.

The show is available as a podcast, so you can either listen to it online (on the website or clicking on the ‘play’ button below) or download it for your own mp3 player [23.4MB]. The interview takes place between 10:50~17:20 if you want to skip straight to the ‘important’ part!

p/s: If you would prefer to read the transcript, click on ‘Read more…’

Sally Hawkins on ‘The Kiosk’: Transcript

A few weeks back, I caught up with the British actress “Sally Hawkins” who was over in Dublin to promote her new film “Happy-Go-Lucky” directed by the inimitable Mike Leigh. Hawkins has worked with MIke Leigh before- she starred in his 2004 film “Vera Drake” – and she’s also pretty well known to audiences for her performances in BBC’s Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet, the adaptations of the Sarah Waters’ novels.

In “Happy-Go-Lucky” Sally Hawkins plays ‘Poppy’, a free-spirited London teacher who is adventuring her way through life. To be honest, there’s really not much to this film in terms of story line, it is very simply focused on Poppy. But the good news is, Hawkins is simply just amazing in the role. And when I caught up with her, she had just won the very prestigious Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, and she was still trying to take in the success of the film.

Here’s how the interview went:

NR: “First off, congratulations on the film, and congratulations to you on winning the Silver Bear,
which is absolutely amazing. A hugely prestigious award to come away with, and it’s really very early in your career.”

SH: “Thank you. It’s really lovely. And as you say, it’s incredibly prestigious, and I haven’t really taken it in. For Mike as well, more than anything. I know that sounds cheesy, but really for the film, I’m so pleased.”

NR: “And can you tell me actually, “Happy-Go-Lucky” tells the story of ‘Poppy’, who is this primary school teacher who wears the most amazing, flamboyant clothes…”

SH: “Aww… I’m glad you said amazing.”

NR: ‘…and who runs around the place and really is quite eccentric, but also has a very interesting intelligence at play. Can you tell me what it was like both for you to take on the role, and what the process of filming her was like? She’s a very individual character.”

SH: “She is. She’s a great character. It was beautiful to play Poppy actually, the whole experience, because she’s full of energy. I couldn’t be down or tired, stepping into her shoes. I soon forgot how tired I might have been, because she’s full of bounce.”

NR: “With Mike Leigh, did you feel like you’d worked with him before. And to a certain extent, he’d actually helped break you as an actress, and I think in 2002, you were a nothing.”

SH: “Yes, that’s right. I was a nothing.”

NR: “Was it something that when you go back to work with him again, that in a sense…”

SH: “You have a sure hand.”

NR: “You have a sure hand and your experience serves sort-of deep, and your understanding of where he wants to go.

SH: Totally, I think that’s probably why Mike builds up such a great family of fantastic actors together. Because you spend so much time together, if you have such a very intensive rehearsal period; five nearly 6 months on this film. He wants to be able to get on with his actors and the people that he employs. His actors always have their priorities the right way round. They’re not interested in…”

NR: “Starry”

SH: “No, or being… because it’s about acting.”

NR: “I couldn’t see Tom Cruise in one of his films.”

SH: “No, no neither could I.”

NR: “Although it would be hilarious.”

SH: “I would actually, I would love… I mean I would always pay to see a Mike Leigh film,
but I’d pay over the odds I think.”

NR: “Just to talk a bit about some of your other roles: People know you from so many different things. There’s the Andrew Davies adaptation; Tipping the Velvet, and also Little Britain. I haven’t seen this one, but apparently you were repeatedly dowsed in projectiles.”

SH: “Oh just once, that happened once.”

NR: “Because that’s a big…”

SH: “Oh yes, no no. That just happened once.”

NR: “What was it like to work with David Walliams and Matt Lucas?”

SH: “Brilliant. Initially I was Kenny Craig’s girlfriend, who’s the hypnotist. I had admired their work before I’d got offered the job from Rock Profiles, and hearing about them, on the comedy scene. And they’re really quite special people. I mean they’re both incredibly bright, and they have that love of life as well.”

NR: “And they love projectile bombs.”

SH: “They love… especially David Walliams, yeah. *laughs* that wasn’t fun to do, but it only happened once, but I wouldn’t do it again.”

NR: “I suppose from your perspective as well, ‘Tipping the Velvet’, like that would have been something that came for you, I think it was just 4 years after you graduated from drama school, you actually landed the role.”

SH: “And there was Fingersmith.”

NR: “Fingersmith, yes. And for both those roles, we would always read in the papers about how some actors would say that it was always difficult to take on a gay role, because it might pigeon-hole you in a certain thing. And I was wondering that for you, pretty much fresh from drama school, and thinking about approaching this role, and Sarah Waters is such a wonderful author.”

SH: “She’s amazing.”

NR: “Wouldn’t you want to work with her, wouldn’t you want to do this adaptation. But did you have any thoughts ‘could this be the wrong route for me?’”

SH: “No, absolutely not. I think umm… I never view it like that. And it’s fantastic, Sarah Waters, as you say, you know, it’s a real honour.”

NR: “She’s a fantastic writer.”

SH: “She’s a fantastic writer.”

NR: “There was such a commotion about it though in the British Press.”

SH: “I know. And you just think: ‘it’s so silly… it’s so silly’.”

NR: “And so much hand-wringing going on.”

SH: “To turn down a role, because of that, would be so wrong. I could, I would never do that. I could never view a character, and put her in a box so… ‘she’s a lesbian’, and that’s the box she’s in. It’s almost something that she just happens to be, but you don’t really… It’s not a big focus.”

NR: “But actually, because we don’t have too much time left.”

SH: “No, uh… sorry.”

NR: “To come back to “Happy-Go-Lucky”. And I suppose I was wondering if you are actually much like your character, Poppy.”

SH: “I think there is a definite similarity. Her optimism and the way she views life. But she has this extraordinary ability to not give herself a hard time about thing, and not worry about things, and not carry that worry with you. She’s able to let things go.”

NR: “Sally Hawkins, thanks a million for joining us.”

SH: “Thank you. Lovely to meet you”

~ Transcribed by Milo (21/04/2008)

You can watch the video by visiting the 3sat website, but just in case it’s down, we’ve included a transcript of the interview below the cut (after ‘Read More…’) so feel free to read through the text as well! I would personally recommend watching the Q&A in full, only because Sally Hawkins‘ expression adds so much more to the dialogue!

And before I forget, this news has come courtesy of noreia_05 from Sally Hawkins Domain. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to catch the name of the interviewer yet, so if you do spot her name, please let us know!

Transcript of Q&A Session

What concept of happiness does Poppy have?
Oh… Poppy is all about happiness. She is umm… she is a beautiful spirit. That is what life is about for her.
She sees the best in everything, which was why it was such a delight to play her, because umm.. everything has beauty in it, and everything is a potential for happiness.

She sees opportunity in challenge in every moment. Even in the worst situations, she thinks that she’s able to turn it around. And uhh.. she’s a complete optimist and idealist, and sees the beauty of life, and that life is there for the taking.

Even in the darkest moments, she is able to see beauty and truth, and opportunity to turn it around for the best. So I think.. she loves life, and is so happy as herself. I mean of course she comes across difficult moments and difficult situations, and has doubts and uncertainty like everyone, but ultimately she… is in love with life.

And umm… yeah…I think that’s it! *laughs*

You think she’s naive?
Umm… No, I don’t think she’s naive. She has a child-like naivety and open-ness, but I think actually, ultimately, running through her, underneath all that
is a knowingness, and a maturity that only somebody who with that child-like open-ness has, and is able to achieve.

She takes people and life on face value and doesn’t judge.
So although she sometimes might go into a situation without thinking, and she can be unpredictable in her thinking. I don’t think it’s naive, I think it’s just wanting to take it all on, and wanting to take everything in,
and a curiosity about life.

But she’s not naive, I don’t think. I think she’s actually quite knowing.

What do you think when people like Scott, or her pregnant sister interfere with her perception of happiness?
Umm… I think Poppy just wants to help people and she wants to make people happy.
And it does really frustrate and challenge her views and her sunny outlook.
It distresses her when she sees people in pain and not happy.

And umm… she just wants to make it all better, and she’s desperate to make people, to sort of shake people up and to take their face, and show them that it’s actually not as bad, and if they just swivelled their head that way, they could see how wonderful life is.

She knows that umm… that it’s all relative. And she never judges that people may not have such a sunny outlook on life, or such a optimistic disposition. She’s aware that life can be hard, and is for some people. But the thing is, she’s found that, dealing with life, it’s best to deal with it with a smile.

~ Transcribed by Milo (20/04/2008)

As part of this week’s edition of Film Weekly, Jason Solomons interviews Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan about Mike Leigh‘s new film, Happy-Go-Lucky. This news update is courtesy of babsden from the Sally Hawkins Domain, and the interview starts off with a brief clip of a dialogue between Poppy (SH’s character) and Scott(EM’s role) during a driving lesson.

It then moves onto the actual interview, where they touch briefly on playing the characters, and talk about filming the driving scenes; and I have to say, although we do focus on Sally Hawkins on this site, Eddie Marsan was incredibly funny as well. They make such a good combination during the interview, and Sally Hawkins‘ laughter is really very infectious!

Not the funniest part of the interview, but just to give you a teaser:

JS: Did you have any accidents?
SH: Yes, just a few.

As a side note, after reading and listening to a couple of interviews, the common theme is that Mike Leigh really does keep his actors guessing during the filming!

You can listen to the full podcast by visiting the website, or by clicking on the ‘play’ button below. The interview starts at around 16:30, which is just over halfway through the programme, and (sadly) lasts a brief 6 minutes, ending at 22:40.

p/s: You can listen to a special in-depth interview with Mike Leigh by Jason Solomons from last week’s edition of Film Weekly.